Sophie
by Salomedancing
Summary: Two women meet in a library, but one of them isn't quite who she seems. And Dracula does not take kindly to perceived competition. A sequel to "Clara". The Historian fandom but can be read by anyone who enjoys vampire stories.
1. In the library

_AN: This is a sequel to a story I wrote called Clara. I do think it can be read anyway, but perhaps you will enjoy it more if you read Clara first. This is a vampire story and though it fits into the fandom of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, the myth of Dracula is so universal that you don't have to read that book to enjoy this story. The characteristics of Kostova's Dracula are making the myth Dracula the same as the real Dracula, a singularly unpleasant Wallachian prince named Vlad Tepes in the late 15th century. That is an idea that has been touted before Kostova wrote her excellent book. More unique is making her Dracula a lover of history and scholarly research. And these things are what I have borrowed for my fanfic._

_Special thanks to my dear friend M who reads, comments and cheers me on_

To fall for someone you had only watched from across a large room was incredibly stupid, but that was just what Sophie did. She had started to use the university's library in the evenings as that made it far more unlikely that she would meet a tutor or a fellow student, who could ask unwelcome questions, like how her thesis was coming along, which it wasn't, not one bit. She still dutifully went to the library, trying to read and focus her thoughts, but mostly playing stupid games on her laptop. And then, when she spotted the loveliest creature she had ever seen on a table opposite hers, her heart stopped and after that she worked even less, though her appearance at the library in the evenings became spotless.

She was perhaps a little older than Sophie, a dark woman who worked studiously at her table with her books. She didn't look quite real to Sophie, more like an old-time movie star playing the role of a student, with her hair perfectly swept up in a chignon at the back of her head and, of all things to wear in a library, a grey suit that must have come from a better kind of second-hand store. There were other retro girls at the university, but this woman looked far more put together than anyone else Sophie has ever seen and then she was so beautiful. Her face a serene oval with pale and perfect skin, high cheekbones and features that harmonized with each other to make something outstanding and Sophie was smitten and lost before she had even said a word to her.

Sophie wasn't shy and after watching the woman for a few evenings she went up to her and said "Hi, I'm Sophie!"

The woman looked up and frowned a little over the intrusion, then she gave Sophie a small close-lipped smile, formally stretched out her hand and said, "Hello. My name is Clara."

Her voice was rather deep and her accent clearly not local and her grip was strong and quick and felt somewhat odd because in the hot library Clara's hand were much cooler than Sophie's. She suddenly felt a bit self-concious over intruding on Clara like that, but now that she was here, Sophie felt she had nothing to loose, and went on.

"I was wondering, I mean, I have seen you work here night after night, and you never go on breaks. You know, you really ought to. Makes you think better after and so on. And I was just having a cup of coffee; I thought perhaps you would like one too?"

Clara shook her head. "I don't drink coffee."

"Tea then? Or just some water? Hot chocolate?" Sophie could hear herself babbling and inwardly she thought she sounded so stupid. Clara didn't know her and clearly didn't want to take a break with her and she ought to stop pushing her, but to her surprise Clara nodded.

"Well, perhaps, a short one. It has been some time since I did something like that."

Clara didn't seem entirely at ease in the coffee shop outside the library. The plastic chairs and the strong light made her seem very out of place, much more than in the library. She wrapped her hands around her teacup and inhaled, remaking that she had always enjoyed the scent of tea. She didn't say much else, leaving it to Sophie to keep up the conversation. And Sophie, nervous and happy over actually sitting at the same table as the Clara, did talk. It didn't take her long to tell Clara her misgivings about her studies and how unsure she was if that was really what she wanted to do. Clara listened and then came with a few intelligent questions that quite made Sophie look at her subject a bit differently and then Clara put down her barely touched tea and said she had to return to her work.

It quickly became a habit of Sophie asking Clara to go on a short break and though they never lasted as long as Sophie would have wanted, Clara always came. For Sophie those moments became the most important time of the day, those few minutes in Clara's company something she thought about as soon as she woke up every morning. Once she suggested that they should do something else, have dinner or take a walk, but Clara made clear that she was much too busy to have time for any other kind of socializing. Clara didn't speak much about herself, but Sophie eventually learned that she wasn't a student at the university and that she was just staying in the city temporarily. She was a researcher, which meant travelling a lot and spending short, busy time periods in various important libraries, looking up subject that her employers wished for her to look into. It all sounded quite exotic to Sophie, especially when she learned that this also included travels abroad.

Though Sophie never dared to ask outright, she did manage to figure out that Clara was involved with someone, but when it came to her private life she was so evasive that it made Sophie uneasy, though she couldn't quite say why. She just had a growing feeling that Clara was unhappy, even if she clearly loved her work and the few times she came to be close to talkative it was always on the subject of her research. Clara was a good listener though, and Sophie soon found that she had poured out the whole story of her life, all her dreams and hopes. She often wondered how Clara could enjoy these near monologues, but comforted herself that Clara would stop going to the coffee shop, her if she got bored with her, and Clara always came.

Even if Sophie had known that Clara's time at the university was limited, she still felt completely devastated when Clara told her that her research was coming to an end and that she would leave very soon.

"I am sorry to see the end of our breaks together", Clara told her. "It has been a very long time since I made friends with anyone and I have enjoyed this more than I can tell."

Even so, she seemed a bit nervous, which jarred with her usual calm self and she cut the break quicker than she usually did and returned to her books. Sophie finished her coffee slowly, thinking of everything she wanted to say to Clara that she would probably never have the opportunity to say now. Somehow she felt that Clara leaving was something definite, there would be no Facebook and no e-mails to keep in touch, even though she also felt that Clara had meant what she had said, that, for some inexplicable reason, talking with Sophie had been important for her.

When Sophie returned to her own books she saw to her surprise that Clara was not alone. She had always worked in solitude and as far as Sophie knew she had never interacted with anyone at the library, except for the librarians and herself. Now a man in a dark suit was leaning over Clara's shoulders, and not only that, one of his hands were resting on her neck in a gesture of ownership that made Sophie's throat constrict in a sudden feeling of despair.

Was this Clara's employer then? Or the man she was involved in, which, Sophie realized, could be the same man. Of course it was, that was how it must be. She crept back to her seat and tried to concentrate on her books, but she kept sneaking glances at Clara and the man. He looked; well, strange, to Sophie, strange in the same way Clara did, dressed a bit at odds with how everyone else dressed. He looked very formal in the dark suit and an impeccable tie, but his black hair was long and curly and drawn back into a ponytail, which looked strange both with the clothes and his age, he looked to be in his 40's, and most men in that age and that kind of clothes did not wear their hair long. Though he was looking down on Clara, Sophie could see that he had strong and rather handsome features, clean-shaven except from a large black mustache, which made him, look even stranger.

As Sophie watched him, he raised his head and looked directly at her and her uneasiness grew abruptly. He looked at her steadily for a few seconds before he looked down on Clara again and said something to her. Clara looked up, looking at Sophie for a moment and then looked away as if she didn't know her and said something to the man that made him look up again sharply, before leaning even closer over Clara. Sophie's uneasiness grew even so and she rose and collected her things without even thinking of why until she was out of the library, almost running toward her bus stop. For no reason whatsoever she felt almost afraid, and on her way home she kept checking over her shoulder, unable to shake the feeling that she was being followed.


	2. In the car

Sophie slept very badly that night. She dreamt that someone stood at her bed and stared at her, but when she woke up her room was empty, though the uneasy dreams returned to her again and again. Eventually, at dawn, the bad dreams ceased and she slept long into the day. She arrived later than usual at the library, and Clara was already there, deeply absorbed in her books. Sophie waited impatiently for break time, wondering if she would dare to bring up the subject of the mysterious man, but when she turned up at Clara's table, she was, for the first time, met with rejection.

"I am sorry", Clara said, "but I have far too much to do." She paused, and then went on. "In fact, I am almost done and will be leaving as soon as I am finished, so I guess this is the best time as any to say farewell."

And to Sophie's surprise, Clara stretched out a hand and gave Sophie a cool handshake before she returned to her reading as if Sophie wasn't still standing there, completely bewildered. She went to buy her own coffee, tears burning behind her eyes. She felt rejected and humiliated, this was certainly not how she had imagined saying goodbye to Clara. What she most wanted to do was to go home and have a good cry, but she felt that she could not show how awful she felt. She tried a few sips of her coffee, but felt no taste and gave up on it, returning to her own books. To her great consternation she found a white envelope at her table. It was addressed to her, the handwriting unfamiliar and old fashioned. Her first thought was that it must be a note from Sophie, something that explained her sudden coolness, but inside there were just a few yellowing articles, clearly cut from old newspapers. They were dated, by the same person who had addressed the envelope and the date on the first one stretched back in time almost 60 years.

Puzzled Sophie began reading. The first news clippings was short, just a few sentences on the disappearance of a young woman from her apartment and that it was suspected that she had been abducted. The next article was a little longer, the woman was given a profession, she had been a librarian and she was given a name, Clara. Sophie blinked and looked up at the real life Clara, before she continued to read. Was this some kind of strange joke? The story the old clippings revealed was that the young woman was never found and though her fiancée had been questioned, he had provided an alibi. A notice, dated several years after the first ones stated that she had been declared death, though there was no body. The last article was newer and longer, part of an unsolved mysteries series and it chocked Sophie completely. Not because of the text, it basically repeated what the previous articles had said, though with some added speculations, but because this article had pictures. Pictures that not only looked somewhat like the real Clara, but were practically identical. The first one was a studio picture, the woman was posing in a very 50's evening gown, looking up and away from the camera and the other one was an amateur photo and here she was laughing, her hair flying around her hair and a young man were standing beside her, looking at her and grinning.

This was all so peculiar. The Clara in the article and the Clara at the library sharing their name and looking far too much like each other. They must be related somehow, but why had she given Sophie the envelope? There were no notes, nothing to indicate the reason and, as Sophie sat there in bewilderment, the real Clara put away her books and left the library without even looking in Sophie's direction.

She sat there staring for a few moments, then, feeling that she needed an explanation, got up and ran from the library. She didn't reach Clara until they were outside, Clara standing under a street lamp as if she was waiting for someone. She turned toward Sophie when she heard her footsteps and Sophie showed the envelope into her hand.

"Why did you give me this?"

Clara removed a clipping and read it, a frown growing deeper on her forehead as she removed another one, then she looked up at Sophie, her eyes huge and dark.

"Sophie, I never gave you this."

At that moment several things happened at once. A large black car stopped where they were standing just as Sophia realized that Clara's gazed had shifted from her to someone who was standing behind her. She turned her head to see that it was the man in the library when he spoke;

"Clara, get inside", and Clara opened the car door and slipped inside just as the man gripped Sophie's elbow, "You too." And then Sophie was inside the car with Clara and the man, the door shut and the car speeded away, the university already far behind when Sophie realized that all her things was left behind at the library and that no one knew where she had gone.

The car was huge; the kind of luxurious car that Sophie had never ever been inside. The driver were hidden by a dark glass screen and the sound of the motor was muted and the backseat huge, though she was uncomfortably aware of the man who had slipped into it with her. Clara was staring straight ahead, like a mute doll oblivious of the pleading glance Sophie gave her.

"Sophie", the man's voice was soft and low and reluctantly she turned her head and looked at him. Up close she could see that his eyes were large and green, beautiful really, if she had been in a mood to appreciate beauty. He was as formally dressed as the day before, but now his hair was unbound, framing his face in long black curls.

As a child Sophie had almost thread on an adder when she had run barefoot in the grass. She had frozen in fear, though she had wanted to run away; her breath constricted as she had watched the adder slither away and disappear and she hadn't been able to move until if had been well out of sight. Her grandmother had told her that the snake had been as scared as she, but Sophia had never forgotten the numbing fear that seemed to spring from a primal part of her mind, a primitive reaction to save her from danger. She felt the same fear now as she stared into cold green eyes, too scared to look away as her body screamed at her to flee. And this man, she knew, were not a frightened adder in the grass, he was something else and much more dangerous.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked in the same soft voice.

"Clara's employer?"

"In a sense, yes, but I am more, so much more. You see, I sent Clara here to do something simple, something that wouldn't have taken much time to complete. But instead of returning to me, she drags on, telling me that she is not quite done yet, not quite ready to go."

As he spoke he seemed to move closer and Sophie tried to slip back from him, becoming all too aware that the movement made her skirt ride up, but not daring to tug it down, lest he would notice.

"I start to wonder why my Clara, always so reliable, who has never lied to me, suddenly tries to keep things away from me, so I travel here, to find out the reason to why she is stalling. And I find that she is spending time, actually wanting to spend time, with a mediocre student who has nothing to commend to her than a vapid prettiness due to her youth and nothing, nothing that my brilliant Clara can have any use for."

The words stung, though Sophie knew he was right, she was, even at her best, average, but it was also something very strange to say. She and Clara had done nothing more than talked with each other for a few minutes at the time and here this man, the man Clara clearly had a relationship with, behaving like this was a crime. Had, in fact, Sophie suddenly realized, abducted her and the atmosphere in the car was thick of her own fear and more than a tinge of sexual tension. He was sitting just too close and she desperately turned to Clara, who had said nothing so far. Now she met Sophie's eyes and finally spoke;

"My lord, it isn't necessary to scare her so."

"It isn't? You have deceived me and now you think you can tell me what to do? "His hand suddenly closed around Sophie's throat, turning her head back toward him. "I thought I was just going to kill you now and be done with it, but perhaps Clara needs a lesson that is just a little longer. Would you enjoy being our guest for a little while? I saw how you have stared at my Clara with your puppy eyes- would you look at her the same if you know what she really is? What will you think if I tell you that those clippings you read so avidly is about Clara and no one else?"

"It can't be. It would be impossible."

"You have a very limited understanding of possibility, my dear."

Sophie's heart was beating faster, he was just not strange, and this man was dangerous, because somehow she didn't doubt what he was saying, not at all. He leaned closer, so close that Sophie thought that he was going to kiss her, but he just continued talking, close to her ear.

"Clara, tell your friend who I am."

And Clara's voice, sounding like it came from very far away. "Dracula, he is Dracula."

It was all so frightening and absurd and Clara's words just made it even more so. Sophie started to feel almost dizzy, her heart was racing and her mouth dry from fear, but at the same time an urge to laugh was welling up inside her, because all this couldn't' really be happening. She didn't resist when the man, Dracula, turned her face back toward Clara.

"Show her, Clara; show Sophie what you really are."

The laugh tried to become a scream when Clara's face changed, a subtle change that still transformed the serene beauty into something that was just a monster, but the scream died as well when Dracula leaned even closer and she could feel sharp teeth cutting deep into the skin of her neck.


	3. In Dracula's house

Sophie woke up slowly from a dream were Clara and she lay wrapped in each other's arms and as she drifted out of sleep, Clara's perfume remained around her, originating, Sophie eventually realized, from the fur coat she was covered in. The coat was soft and luxurious, but that was the only thing in her surroundings that was. Fully awake now she sat up on a mattress placed directly on the concrete floor in a small windowless room. A light bulb in the ceiling was spreading a bleak light over Sophie and the only other thing there was a covered tray and two doors.

Sophie stood up, her body aching, most of all her neck. Her shoes were missing and so was her mobile phone, every thing else was, of course, still in the library. Had anyone missed her yet? She rather shakily tried the doors. One was locked; the other led to a tiny bathroom only containing a toilet and a basin, not even a mirror. Sophie gingerly touched her neck, flinching when her fingertips found two small wounds. She remembered what had happened in the car very well, but it seemed impossible that it was what had really happened. Dracula was an imaginary monster; the man in the car must be a madman. A rich and crazy man, she was in so much trouble, but she didn't have to be a victim for something supernatural to be that. She wondered what Clara's role in all this was. She hadn't want Sophie to follow her, in fact she had tried to avoid her as soon as the man had appeared and she had not seemed to like what the man had said in the car. But she had done what he said; he clearly had a strong hold over her.

And she hadn't looked human. That was the bit Sophie couldn't explain. Her wounds could be cuts, not bites but Clara's face had changed and, yes, she had to admit that, it had been teeth that bit her. Sophie started to shake and curled up on the mattress to investigate the tray in an effort to not think about her scary situation. There were some cold food and hot sweet tea in a thermos and she ate and drank greedily. The food was delicious and she wondered if it was Clara's doings, making sure she was warm and had good food. She burrowed her face and inhaled the scent and felt sure that it must be. Whatever Clara was, Sophie's mind shied away from the word vampire, she hadn't wanted to hurt Sophie.

When she had eaten and any distractions were gone Sophie suddenly felt overwhelmed and started to cry. She cried for a long time, until she was totally exhausted and she blessedly fell asleep. She didn't wake up until the door opened and Clara stepped inside. She looked very different, her long dark hair was falling free down her back in loose curls and she was wearing a long robe, richly embroidered and looking rather foreign, Eastern Europe perhaps. Before Sophie could say something and much faster than a human being ought to be able to move, she was kneeling beside Sophie and covering her mouth with her hand.

"Not a sound, Sophie", Clara whispered in her ears, so low that Sophie had to strain herself to be able to make out the words. "You must be as quiet as you can, because everyone in this house can hear things that you can't."

She hesitated a moment, and then she leaned even closer. "I am going to take you to the door and you are going to run as fast as you can. Get away from this place as quickly as you can, but don't go back to the university. Don't ever get back from the university. Do you understand me?"

Sophie nodded and Clara removed her hand, standing up and helping Sophie to stand as well. She pressed a roll of money into Sophie's hand, and then she took the other and led her out of the room. She had been in a cellar, Sophie understood, as they had to climb up a staircase. Clara led her through a maze of winding corridors, walking swiftly, but silently. It all went too quickly for Sophie to take in, but she got glimpses of beautiful furniture and art, and soft carpets under her bare feet. The house must be huge, but not a sound could be heard, as if she and Clara were the only beings in it. Sophie bit her lip to prevent all the questions she had from pouring out, not daring to make any sound. They reached a large hall and Clara unlocked and bolted the heavy door. It opened silently and outside Sophie got a glimpse of a street with huge and ancient houses and large trees.

Sophie took her arm to usher her out, but Sophie never reached the freedom she got a peek of. She was suddenly dragged back, lifted and flung through the air, crashing against a side table as she fell, the door banging shut when she was still in the air. She crawled up, one of her wrists hurt and she cradled it in her other hand as she looked around. Dracula was standing in the middle of the room, shaking Clara as if she was a rag doll. Her hair was flying like a halo around her face and then she was thrown as well, falling into a heap not far from Sophie.

For a moment or two nothing happened. Dracula was standing very still though his eyes were burning in rage and Sophie suddenly realized that he didn't breathe. He ought to be breathing hard, any human would do that after far less physical activity, but he didn't. Despite the violent outburst he looked calm and Clara, slowly standing up again, looked calm as well. As calm as she always looked because she didn't need to breathe. That was the moment when Sophie finally understood that everything was real, however strange and fantastical it all seemed. Dracula was real and a vampire and Clara was one as well and for Sophie herself things would not be set all right. She ought to be hysterical now, she thought, start to scream and cry, but she felt oddly calm instead.

"Come", Dracula ordered and left the room, clearly not expecting any disobedience.

Clara helped Sophie to her feet and for a brief moment she hugged her, whispering "I am so sorry.", before she followed Dracula with Sophie in tow.

They went through more silent corridors and into a large, room. The floor was covered with rugs that looked old and well worn, but they were beautiful. The walls were covered with bookshelves and cabinets and there were tables with more books piled high. The windows were hidden beneath thick curtains and the only light came from an abundance of burning candles. Dracula was waiting for them and Clara went up to him, kneeled and kissed his hand. He placed a hand on her head and when she looked up at him he motioned to her to stand up again.

"Clara, why do you betray me so? Have I not given you your heart's desire? Have I not kept all my promises to you and never hurt you?"

Clara bowed her head. "Yes, my lord."

"So why, then? You go against my desires and for what? A girl who is a nothing? What makes her so special that you defy me?"

Several minutes passed before Clara answered. "Because spending time with Sophie made me feel like I was alive. It made me feel like who I used to be- for a little time."

"Despite knowing what I would do if I found out? Was it worth it?"

Clara glanced at Sophie. "Yes, it was worth it."

"I see." He stared intently into Clara's eyes and then he turned away and opened one of the cabinets. "Come here, Sophie."

Sophie reluctantly followed, but she found that it was very hard to not do as he asked. The cabinet was filled with an array of objects, most which looked very ancient. Dracula nodded toward a small black box. "Open it."

The object inside was just a small cross in silver on a chain, but Dracula looked at it with revulsion. "Do me a favour, my dear, and put it around Clara's neck."

He looked at Clara who looked very unsettled. "I thought this would make for a fitting punishment for you, after all it belongs to you."

Clara's look deepened into fear, but she made no move to stop Sophie, indeed she even lifted her mass of hair out of the way to make it easier to fasten the chain around her neck. Sophie did it clumsily enough anyway, her wrist hurt which made it difficult and she also had a nagging suspicion that this was not boding well for Clara. Half forgotten vampire lore from movies and novels floated around her brain and crosses were never good for a vampire. Her suspicion proved right as soon as the cross touched Clara's skin. It reddened as if the silver was hot and the burn mark immediately started to spread, deepening in colour as is she was being scorched by a living flame. Clara moaned and lifted her hands toward the cross, but she made no attempt to remove it.

Sophie stared at the growing mark in horror. "It hurts her!"

"Yes, very much. If it isn't removed it will burn her to a living cinder, but it is so small that it will take days before she succumbs to it."

His voice was thick with pleasure when he said it and something in Sophie hurt. "Don't kill her!"

Dracula looked at her with a faint smile. "Of course not. I treasure her far too much and she will recover soon enough when she has fed again. But she will suffer until I'm satisfied. He stretched out a hand and stroke away a lock of Sophie's hair from her face.

"You care for her, Sophie? Though you know now what she is now. Yes, I can see you do, and she cares for you. How amusing." He fell quiet, still looking at Sophie as if he was looking for something. "Perhaps I should give you the chance to stop Clara's torment? You want to stop it?"

"Yes. Yes, please." Sophie looked at Clara, the burns continued to spread and Clara's eyes had grown wide and blood-filled in pain. Sophie turned back to Dracula. "What shall I do."

He smiled wider, the most terrible smile she had ever seen. Then he touched her face again, letting his hands slide over her neck and down, sliding the fur coats away from her shoulder. It fell to the floor and Sophie shuddered, the room was cold and if she had felt scared before, it now grew into a mind-numbing terror.

"It is very easy, Sophie. I just want you to invite me. Beg me to take your blood; I want you to plead for it." When Sophie couldn't stop herself from shaking her head in protest he continued. "You change nothing for yourself, I would do it anyway, but you can save Clara with just a few words."

Sophie swallowed, her mouth feeling very dry. It ought to be easy to say it when it really didn't changed anything for her, but would help Clara, but the words didn't want to come. She swallowed again, but not until Clara stumbled and fell down on her hands and knees, did she find the words.

"Please, do it. Please do whatever you want with me. I beg of you to do what you please with me."

Dracula's face changed before she had finished speaking and steeped closer, wrapping her into his arms in a parody of a lover's embrace. Sophie closed her eyes, but she couldn't stop the sensation of once again feeling Dracula's mouth to her throat and then his bite.


	4. In the Cellar

When Sophie came to again, her first thought was that she was cold, the next one that she was still alive. She curled up with her arms around her legs, adamantly keeping her eyes shut. She was back in the cellar again, she could tell from the mattress she was laying on, but this time therere was no fur coat to keep her warm. She was feeling very unwell, her neck ached worse than before, and now her head hurt as well and she was feeling drowsy and very thirsty. She lay very still to keep the pounding headache at bay and went through what had happened the night before. The most frightening part had not been Dracula's anger, but how much he had enjoyed hurting Clara and then making herself beg him to drink her blood again. And not even that had been as scary as the awful need she had felt to comply with him, despite being so sure he would kill her. That led to another thought, what would happen to her when he did? She tried to remember everything she had ever known about vampires, but knowledge gathered from movies and novels were hardly to be trusted, especially as it sometimes contradicted itself. She had only seen Clara at night, so that part must be true and the silver cross was clearly harmful, but how did you become a vampire? Was it enough to have been just bitten by another vampire or was there anything else needed?

Eventually the cold and the thirst became too much for Sophie, so she reluctantly sat up, only to have a shock. She wasn't alone in the cellar this time; Clara's body was lying on the floor, her limbs flung carelessly about as if she had been thrown in. Sophie scrambled to Clara's side, frantically turning her on her back. The cross was gone, but the burn marks remained and now Clara's hands were badly burned as well. Had Dracula lied then, when he said that he didn't want to hurt Clara permanently? Sophie stared down at Clara in despair. Her mouth was open and the gums drawn back, showing the long sharp teeth. Her eyes were open as well and Sophie realized that there was life in them, life and pain, though Clara's body remained motionless. Not dead then and Sophie remembered that Dracula had said that Clara would heal when she had fed. That must be what was wrong with her, she hasn't been allowed to eat and she was still in pain.

Sophie blinked back tears and shook her head. Her thoughts felt sluggish and slow, but an idea started to form. If Clara drank blood, she would heal; the question was if her immobility was due to her wounds or if it was because it was daytime outside. Sophie had no way to tell, but it was clear that Clara was still hurting. Sophie looked at Clara's teeth and then at her own arm where she could see the blue veins running under the skin. If she was to die, wouldn't it be better to die helping Clara than being killed by Dracula? She nodded to herself, anything would be better than Dracula. She took a deep breath and placed her arm against Clara's teeth, as close to the artery as she could. Then she took a deep breath and pushed her arm hard against the sharp teeth.

They went in surprisingly easy, a sharp pain radiating through her arm, making Sophie gasp. Then Clara's mouth clamped down harder and she started to swallow and the pain ebbed away. The effect on Clara's burned skin was immediate; the marks faded and started to heal. Sophie began to feel very dizzy, but before she fainted Clara's eyes opened and she tore Sophie's arm out of her mouth just as Sophie started to slump and caught her before she fell.

"Oh sweetest, why did you do that?" Sophie leaned against Clara's shoulder, black spots flickered in front of her eyes and for a moment or two she feared that she was going to lose consciousness completely, but then the world stopped spinning and she sat up straighter so she could look at Clara.

"I wanted to help you."

Clara smiled. "Thank you. But you shouldn't have done it, you are much too weak already and I was not in any real danger."

"Does it matter? I'm going to die soon anyway, won't I?"

The smile on Clara's face vanished and she looked away.

"Yes. At least I hope so. For your sake, I really hope so."

"Will I become like you then?" "If he feeds from you one more time, you will, but I don't wish that to happen to you."

She helped Sophie to lie on the mattress again and then she removed her robe, revealing an undergown that was almost as ornate as the robe, to wrap around Sophie. There was no food or drink left this time, but the discarded cutlery from the night before were still there and Clara filled the empty thermos with water and gave to Sophie to drink. Then she sat down on the mattress and placed Sophie's head in her lap. Though she still felt sick and exhausted the velvet robe provided some kind of warmth and Sophie gradually stopped shivering.

"Clara, I'm so afraid. Will you stay with me?"

Clara stroked Sophie's hair. "If I can."

They were both silent for a while before Sophie asked a question she had tried to formulate since the night in the car. "Why are you not evil?"

"I'm not good, Sophie, I have done awful things."

"Yes, you are, don't say you're not. You tried to help me. You are not like him."

"I know what you are thinking. I thought so too, I thought I would turn into something without a conscience, without a personality, but that is not so. I have found that being changed doesn't really affect the persons we were when we were alive. I am still me. I was just a librarian; I was going to get married and live an ordinary life. I never wished harm on anyone and I try not to, we don't have to kill when we feed. . He, he was very different. He did things when he lived that were so horrible that they aren't forgotten even now and it was hundreds of years ago. And most of the people he chooses to turn are like him, people who relish in the pain and suffering of others. They don't change either; really, they were real monster before they turned."

"How can you stand being here, with him?"

"Stand?" Clara looked down at her and smiled a little. "I wouldn't be able to stand not being with him. You can't understand, I know, but he made me and I am his, forever. He is a fair master, he keeps his promises, for good and bad. I have not been unhappy, for the longest time I even thought I was very happy and I didn't know how lonely I had been, not until I found you."

"I saw you first"

Clara's smile grew. "No, you didn't. I am just much better than you are at watching someone unnoticed."

Despite the fear Sophie suddenly felt a burst of happiness and she smiled back up at Clara. "You care for me; you really do care for me?"

"Oh yes, very much." Then Clara grew serious again. "That makes it all my fault that you are here now, you do understand that? And I can't help you anymore. The only reason I could before was because he hadn't actually forbidden me, but now he has and I can't go against his orders."

She fell silent and this time the no one spoke. Sophie knew she ought to feel more upset? but now when she was warmer and not so dizzy, a strange lethargy came creeping. Probably because of the blood loss, she had a rather dim view on how much blood a human actually had in her body, but she must have lost a lot of it by now. Clara continued to stroke her hair and for quite some time Sophie drifted in and out of sleep, feeling if not safe, at least not alone.

It all ended abruptly when the door opened and Dracula emerged. Clara carefully removed Sophie's head from her lap and stood up and as he saw her almost healed skin his eyes flashed in anger.

"Do you defy me yet again, Clara?"

Sophie scrambled up on her knees, for a moment forgetting how scared she was of him in her hurry to defend Clara and stretched her arm toward him. "No, no, she didn't do anything, I made her drink."

"You?" He strode forward and grabbed Sophie's arm, pulling it painfully toward him so he could see the bite marks clearly. "Is that true, Clara?"

"Yes, my lord. I stopped her as soon as I could."

"I see." He looked straight at Sophie. "You surprise me; you have more courage than I thought."

He let go of her and turned to leave. "Come with me, Clara."

Before she left, Clara gave Sophie a small smile behind Dracula's back before she hurried after him. Alone again Sophie curled up, not having anything else to do than to wait until the door would open again.


	5. In Clara's room

It was impossible to tell time in the cellar, especially as Sophie slept in short fits, but she felt it must have been hours before the door opened again. She had expected Dracula to return for her, but to her surprise it was Clara. She was once again dressed in one of her suits, her hair carefully styled and her skin was now completely healed. She went up to Sophie and gathered her into her arms, as if she didn't have more weight than a baby. She carried Sophie out, up into the house, once again walking though long corridors and then more stairs.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my room."

Sophie sighed and wrapped her arm arms around Clara's neck. She had gradually felt worse while she waited in the cellar and now she felt too ill to even worry anymore.

Clara's room were large and just like Dracula's room it was filled with books, but it was warm and the curtains were drawn from the big French windows and Sophie could see a glimpse of the night sky. The furniture were both old and new, a mix that made the room seem comfortable and inviting. Clara carried her through it, into a bathroom were a steaming bath had already been drawn. Sophie allowed Clara to remove her clothes and bathe her without protests or not even feeling embarrassed over her nakedness naked. The bath finally made her feel warm again and wonderfully clean. There were no bed in Clara's room, but one of the sofas was made up with crisp linen sheets and soft duvets and pillows for Sophie. Clara made her drink a little warm broth and some sweet tea, but Sophie, exhausted by blood loss and worry slipped away into a deep sleep before she could even finish her meal.

Days passed in an oddly dreamlike state for Sophie. She slept a lot and when she was awake she had little energy. Clara was not there during the days, Sophie could not quite bring herself to ask if she really slept and if she really did that in a coffin. A small fridge and a kettle had been provided for Sophie so she could eat something when she was alone. Clara's room was located at the back of the house and faced only high walls that hid it from the other houses that must surround it. There was a small neglected garden several stores down and as evening fell, some kind of flower released its scent, perfuming the air and bringing something into the small world that was alive. There was a small balcony and when Sophie felt better she often say there, trying to catch those few hours when sunlight reached it. Sometimes, when the sun stood high, she cried out, calling for help in the hope that anyone would hear her and come to her help, but she never got any answer.

When she felt better and had more energy she started to read some of the books and when she grew bored with that she asked Clara for something to draw on. Clara returned the next evening laden with art supplies and after that Sophie spent most of her time drawing. She found that to concentrate to what her eyes could see and her hands could draw took away some of the terrible fear that was always nagging away somewhere in the back of her mind. There were also the thoughts of her family and friends that must have missed her by now and who would never find out what had happened to her. Sophie missed them, but somehow not as much as she felt she ought to, but her old life had started to feel even more like a dream than her current one. Perhaps it was her own mind that put in a defense against the pain of everything she had lost by making it seem like it had never been quite real..

And there was Clara. She came after nightfall, bearing food and everything Sophie could need. The first days when Sophie was still weak Clara bathed and fed her like a small child and while Sophie rested, Clara sat with her, reading or writing, when they didn't talk. And the first thing Sophie needed to know, the thing she asked about as soon as could:

"Why am I here? I don't understand, I thought it would be all over now. Why does he let me be with you?"

Clara sighed. "Not out of kindness. You see, he is very old and can get very bored. He is away now anyway and it amuses him to let me have you here with me. Because he knows that it will make it even harder when he do come back and take you away from me. It is just for pleasure, his pleasure.."

So every night that passed was just another reprieve from the end. Sophie lost track of the days and she didn't ask Clara to find out how much time that passed. She just tried to snatch a little happiness And in the end he did come.


	6. At the end

**AN: Last chapter. I hope you will enjoy it!**

Sophie had woke up just before sunset and had stood on the balcony to watch the daylight die. She went inside to light a few candles, wondering a little when Clara would come back when she saw Dracula. He was sitting calmly in a chair, perfectly still. When Sophie had first known about his and Clara's nature she had only seen how alike they were, but after spending so much time with Clara, she could see the difference between them. Clara, even if she didn't breathe, still maintained a string of very human ticks, stroking back a lock of her hair, licking her lips, wiggling her fingers, even when she was absorbed in a book, but Dracula was just still. The only thing alive in his features were his eyes, otherwise he could have been a statue. Or a corpse, a corpse with living eyes. And older, infinitely older, Sophie could sense the centuries he had laid to rest, even if she couldn't see them.

He gestured to her to sit. Sophie had waited for this moment for so long now that she felt more relieved than scared. She had known for a long time that she wouldn't survive this and now she just wished that she could have seen Clara one last time. For some time Dracula sat in silence before he spoke.

"I learned in my living days that if you are a to be a great leader, you will have to handle many things that a lesser man would feel to be above him, like acknowledging his mistakes." He gave her a small inclination of his head. "I have to admit that I mis-judged you when you first came to my attention. You have shown a resilience to my world I find admirable. With very little have you forged out an existence here, were most would have gone mad."

Another silence. Sophie's mind reeled a little from his unexpected acknowledge and she wondered where this were heeding.

"I am old and I have made myself many servants since I started to walk the earth in this shape. Still, most of them are barely last a few decades, perhaps a century. Do you know why?"

Sophie shook her head and he continued.

"Their minds grow stale when the world they were born to change beyond recognition. For all humankind have evolved and adapted to live all over the earth, they have never needed to learn to cope with the changes time inevitably brings. Few have been able to follow me through times as death by it's very nature only brings the change of decay. I have high hopes for my Clara, though. She is young yet, but her mind is a beacon and I promised her hearts desire. I didn't know that she would desire the company of someone more like herself, but I see that she does."

Sophie didn't dare to move. She wasn't quite sure if he was talking to her or just to himself and she didn't dare thinking of what his words implied. He looked at her, his eyes burning with green fire, his gaze so intense that Sophie felt it could scorch her.

"I can give you what your heart wants the most. I can give you Clara for all eternity."

"Not without a cost, I'm sure. What will you demand of me in return?"

"Your life's blood and, something else." He motioned to her to come to stand before him and Sophie complied, even if her legs shook.

" I have watched you and I think that you understand something that Clara for her brilliance never can. I promised I would never hurt her as long as she obeys me and I have kept my word. For her, pain is just punishment and it would break her, but I believe that you are different, I believe that you can see how pain is a special kind of beauty."

Dracula took her hand. "Kneel for me, child."

She kneeled, looking up into his face. His hand, cool and smooth, stroke her face then his nails, hard and sharp as glass raked down her neck, drawing blood. Sophie shuddered, breath catching, but she didn't move.

"You do understand it, that pain and pleasure are twins, feeding each other?"

Sophie thought of Clara's fair skin burning under the cross and the pleasure Dracula had derived from it. It had been horrible, but she understood what he meant.

"Yes," she whispered.

He smiled faintly. "Very well then, like Persephone I will give you half the time in the light, but when Clara travels on my orders, you will reside with me. and you will give me what Clara can't."

"Do I have any choice?"

"You do. I crave your willingness, say no and I will kill you. I might even give you a quick and painless death."

There was a movement in the room and Sophie turned her head to see Clara standing there.

"Oh Sophie," she said. "You don't realise what you will condemn yourself for if you say yes."

"But do you want me?"

Clara kneeled at Sophie's side and folded her into her arms. Sophie rested her head on Clara's shoulder, clinging to her. "I do, sweetest. Always."

"Then it will be worth it."

Sophie could feel Dracula's hand brushing away her hair from her neck, his touch as gentle as a lovers and she closed her eyes and waited.


End file.
